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wendy@tstt.net.tt
http://www.caribbeangourmet-tt.com
Traditional
Christmas Treats
I
love the tradition that Christmas is; same old recipes that
we create year after year, and we enjoy them once per year
so we never tire of them. Nothing beats a turkey and stuffing
sandwich after Christmas, with all the trimmings of cranberry
sauce and chow chow.
Ginger beer and sorrel, ponche de crème and black
cake; it’s all a celebration of our Trini roots, a
celebration of the great cooks that make up this nation.
Let’s remain steeped in culinary tradition so that
the younger generation will have recipes to pass on as well.
A Merry and blessed Christmas to you all.
CHOCOLATE
RIPPLE CHEESECAKE
20 OREO cookies
4 tbs melted butter
1 lb cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 ozs semi sweet or bitter sweet chocolate
1/2 cup unflavoured yogurt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350
Finely crush cookies in a food processor, add melted butter
and combine.
Press mixture into the bottom of an eight-inch spring-form
pan, refrigerate.
Break chocolate into small pieces and place in a small saucepan,
place saucepan into a larger pan (a skillet works well here),
half filled with simmering water.
Gently stir chocolate until it melts, taking care not to
burn it, set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until creamy;
add sugar, eggs and vanilla, beat until smooth, gently beat
in yogurt.
Drizzle melted chocolate into cream cheese mixture and fold
just until incorporated. Do not stir or fold too vigorously
or you will not get the ripple effect.
Pour batter into cookie crust and bake for 40 minutes until
cheesecake is slightly puffed and the centre is set.
Refrigerate for four hours or overnight.
n Serves eight to 10
* If you are using a spring-form pan you can wrap the pan
in foil during baking to prevent any liquid from dripping
through the seam of the pan.
CHRISTMAS STUFFING
1 lb chicken giblets, cleaned and finely chopped
1 tbs minced chives
1 tsp minced garlic
4 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
4 tbs french thyme, fresh
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
5 pimento peppers, seeded and chopped
1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tbs finely chopped garlic
6 cups, soft breadcrumbs
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 ozs butter, melted (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Clean giblets and mince in food processor, season or combine
with minced chives and garlic.
In a large sauté pan, heat oil, add garlic, onions,
thyme, peppers, celery and cook and stir until onions are
tender, add giblets and stir until they have lost their
pinkish, about two minutes, add currants and season with
salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add bread crumbs, eggs, and pecans and combine well, add
melted butter and stir.
If your stuffing seems a little dry, moisten stuffing with
a little chicken stock adding only about one tablespoon
at a time until moist but not wet.
Turn onto plate and cool before stuffing into bird.
n Serves eight
WEST INDIAN ROASTED TURKEY
1 12-14 lb turkey
10 cups stuffing
1/2 cup butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Cup minced fresh herbs pureed with 1ž4 cup olive oil
(1/4 cup fresh thyme, 1ž2 cup chopped chives, 1ž4 cup
Fresh parsley, 1/8 cup garlic)
1 cup water
10 to 12 cups turkey stuffingThe night before cooking your
turkey, rinse the turkey, pat it dry and season it inside
out with salt and pepper. Rub the minced herb mixture over
turkey completely, cover and leave refrigerated overnight.
The next day bring your turkey to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Pack the neck cavity loosely with some of the stuffing,
fold the neck skin under the body of the turkey and fasten
it with a skewer.
Pack the body cavity loosely with the remaining stuffing
and truss the turkey.
Rub the turkey with the butter, place it on a roasting pan
and roast it in the oven for 30 minutes.
Reduce the temperature to 325ºF. Baste the turkey with the
pan juices and add the water to the pan.
Roast the turkey, basting it every 20 minutes for 2 1/2
to three hours more. Or, until a meat thermometer inserted
into the fleshiest part of the thigh registers 180ºF, and
the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced.
Transfer the turkey to a platter, remove the string and
cover loosely with foil.
Remove stuffing. When turkey has cooled. then proceed to
carve.
Serves ten to 12 persons
Q. I
always find it a challenge when it comes to buying and cooking
the correct size turkey for Christmas day. Can you tell
me how I can average?
A. The rule of thumb with respect to averaging is one
pound per person; that's a bird with the bone in. For example
if you want to serve 12 to 16 persons, a 12 to 14 pound
turkey will do. Same with a chicken; if you want to serve
four persons a three - four pound chicken will be enough.
This average will give you leftovers as well, but not too
much that your turkey will waste.
Q. What's the correct way to make sorrel drink?
A. There are different ways to prepare sorrel. Some persons
boil their sorrel, but I prefer to steep it in boiling water.
When you buy the sorrel from your market, you have to remove
the top of the sorrel, the area with the overhanging sepals;
cutting around this on the seed will remove the sepals here
and the seed without much wastage. Wash your sorrel, then
place it into a bowl or pot, add some cloves and cinnamon
stick, this depends on your taste, for about three pounds
uncut sorrel you can use four cloves, and one cinnamon stick.
Then pour boiling water over the sorrel, just to cover it,
cover and let this steep overnight. Strain your sorrel and
sweeten to taste with sugar syrup.
Q. Can you tell me why are candy canes are shaped as
they are?
A. The story probably goes way back to the rule of
Oliver Cromwell in 17th century England. In those days work
and worship were valued and any sort of revelry was generally
disapproved; the Puritans even tried to stamp out Christmas.
The candy cane shaped peppermint stick was for people to
acknowledge Christmas secretly. The shape is said to represent
the staff of the watchful shepherds who were told of Christ's
birth by an angel and who then travelled to visit the Holy
family in Bethlehem.
Confused...Challenged? Now you can write Wendy with your
questions on Food and Cooking at:
Wendy Rahamut
Trinidad Guardian
22-24 St. Vincent St.
Port-of-Spain OR
You can e-mail Wendy at:
<mailto:wendy@tstt.net.tt>wendy@tstt.net.tt
<http://www.caribbeangourmet-tt.com/>www.caribbeangourmet-tt.com
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